A beloved stuffed mascot stolen from a restaurant in Pacific Beach has made its way back home, safe and sound.
“Carlos,” a four-foot stuffed bear, is a decorative staple at the Firehouse eatery on Grand Avenue.
The mascot was stolen late Tuesday night, which prompted the restaurant to post public pleas across Facebook and social media begging for the bear’s safe return.
Firehouse offered a $100 gift card for information regarding the bear's whereabouts and said there would be “no questions asked” in the return of Carlos.
The deal worked.
On Wednesday, the stuffed animal was given back to the restaurant.
“We've already put it back up on social media that he is here and we are getting tons of notifications of everybody excited to come visit him. We were worried we weren't going to get him back,” said Kristine Duehren of Firehouse.
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Carlos’ entire bear-napping incident was caught on surveillance tape.
Restaurant staffers say the perpetrator – a man who simply grabbed the mascot and took off – was concerned he would be arrested, so he paid someone he found on Craigslist $40 to act as a middleman and return Carlos to the Firehouse.
